The Story of Lizzie McKinnon
by sealost
Summary: Left by her parents at an orphanage before she was even one year old, Lizzie has grown up all her life completely unaware of the magical world - but all that changes when she gets a letter from Hogwarts. The story explores her relationship and adventures with Harry, Ron and Hermione as she discovers this new world, and also her past. Eventual OC x Fred W.


Prologue: Some Goodbyes Are Forever

 _A woman with long auburn hair stands clutching a baby, barely a year old. Tears drip down her beautiful face in abandon but she doesn't stop hugging the child to her body to wipe them away. Next to her, a man is continuously glancing round nervously as he keeps his hand wrapped tightly round her waist, his face clouded by a darkness which even daylight could not lift._

" _We need to do this quickly Marlene," he mutters._

" _I don't think I can do it… I just can't," she chokes out, pressing the baby even closer to herself._

" _Marlene….."_

 _A sudden noise makes them both start and turn around, searching terrified for its source. A man, exiting his house, had slammed the door, which at this time of night made it sound like a small explosion went off. Giving them a curious look, he continued walking past them, his silhouette casting long shivering shadows down the poorly lit street._

 _Sharing a look of deep despair, the man reaches across the woman and raps smartly on the door in front of them. It takes a while, but eventually a matronly woman answers, peering round the door cautiously; she opens it wide when she sees the two people standing before it._

" _Please, please help us. We need to leave our baby here with you, it's not safe for her to be with us. We… we don't know what else to do," says the man in response to the woman's quizzical look. She stares from his set expression, to the mother's tear streaked face, her mind clearly buzzing with a growing list of questions. The mother doesn't utter a sound except to coo at the baby, as if in attempt to ignore and block out what is going on. The night breeze is balmy, but she is shivering uncontrollably._

" _Why…?", the matronly woman begins to ask, but the man cuts her off._

" _There isn't time to explain, and believe me, we couldn't explain even if we wanted to. But there are … people… after us. And it's not safe to keep Lizzie with us anymore - she's too precious to us. We would rather she was kept safe, even if she is not with us"._

 _At that, the mother begins to sob, first softly and then louder, no longer able to control her intense emotions. The baby too starts to wail, as if voicing its own reluctance. At this, the man becomes more desperate, staring up and down the street, his hand grasping tightly around something in his pocket. Fearing for the children her orphanage, the matronly woman starts to close the door, but the man sticks his foot in the doorway, pleading with her and assuring her that no one will come to the orphanage. After all, they had made their way here with the utmost care, making certain they were not followed._

 _The woman eventually concedes to take the baby, and keep quiet about the whole thing in order to maintain everyone's safety. After several moments, the mother hands over her baby._

 _As the parents turn to leave, Marlene being supported and half dragged by the man, he turns and says, "one last thing if we can ask this of you - do not put her up for adoption. She is our baby, our child, and we will be coming back for her."_

 _The matronly woman nods, tears forming in her own eyes as she takes in the situation. She looks down at the baby, tucking the blankets around her, and when she looks up again, the parents are gone._

Chapter 1: Life in the Little Village of St. Paulswick

Lizzie started awake as Sister Agnes moved from room to room waking everyone up with her strong and cheerful voice. She rolled over and groaned as she looked at the little alarm clock on her bedside table: precisely 7am. Today was the first day of summer holidays and Lizzie had been looking forward to a lie-in - as if she ever got the chance to sleep in past 7. Sister Agnes was one of those annoying morning people who insisted, much to Lizzie's great irritation, that everyone should get up bright and early, whether it was a school day or not.

But even Lizzie couldn't resist smiling this morning as everyone around her started getting out of bed and pulling on their clothes, chatting excitedly. She had two full months of nothing ahead of her, well-earned after all the hard work she put in studying for the last session of exams. While loved living in St. Paulswick and her life at the orphanage wasn't bad at all, she always had a yearning for something more, a feeling that she had something inside her still to be unrealised. Good school marks would be her ticket to following these feelings, and she had been working hard this year. In two years it would be on to sixth form, and then university.

But for now, Lizzie was ready to just enjoy summer. There was a lake about half an hour's walk from the orphanage which Sister Agnes would take them to on sunny days after all the chores were finished. Lizzie's designated chore, apart from the basic cleaning chores which everyone participated in, was taking care and feeding the orphanage's chickens and geese, a job which she enjoyed immensely (especially now, following spring, when there were new chicks and goslings!).

Indeed, even though she had never been adopted, Lizzie had never really been unhappy at the orphanage. When she was younger, she used to feel desperately unwanted every time someone was adopted, even though Sister Agnes maintained that this was because her parents planned on coming back for her (Lizzie had a sneaking suspicion that she just made that story up). But she eventually accepted and came to terms with it all, and was thoroughly enjoying her life. Nothing could disrupt that, certainly not with two blissful summer months ahead of her.

_x_x_x_

 _Note: Hi all - this is only my second attempt at writing a story, so reviews and comments will be very much appreciated_

 _All characters and materials in this story belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling, apart from my own character, Lizzie. Along the way I make a couple of minor amendments to the overall wizarding world (for instance, Hogwarts starts at the age of 14 and not 11), but I keep to the main storyline._


End file.
